Tamil Nadu plans to upgrade Tambaram Government Hospital into medical college

Chennai: To strengthen public healthcare infrastructure and improve patient convenience, Tamil Nadu is considering upgrading the Tambaram District Government Hospital into a full-fledged medical college while planning to introduce advanced slot booking for medicine collection through its Nalam AI digital health platform.

Health and Family Welfare Minister KG Arunraj shared these developments on Sunday. He said the proposal to establish a medical college in Tambaram was under consideration and would be discussed with Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay before a formal announcement, reports The Daily.

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The minister also said the Health Department was working on introducing an advance booking facility through the Nalam AI platform to address complaints about long queues at government hospital pharmacies.

Under the proposed system, patients will be able to book a convenient time in advance to collect their prescribed medicines, reducing congestion at hospital pharmacies

"Most patients visit government hospitals between 8 am and 10 am to collect medicines, resulting in overcrowding and delays. Through this facility, beneficiaries can book their slots in advance and visit the hospital at the allotted time. This will prevent congestion and eliminate unnecessary waiting," he said, adding that the system would be implemented shortly, reports DT Next.

On the dengue situation, Arunraj said the disease was under control in Tamil Nadu, with the government intensifying preventive measures to contain its spread.

These measures include mosquito eradication drives and the destruction of mosquito larvae at their source. Dedicated personnel have also been deployed to visit households and carry out preventive activities.

The minister said government hospitals had been instructed to closely monitor patients reporting with fever and take immediate preventive action. Doctors and medicines have been kept ready to ensure timely treatment and prevent complications.

Medical Dialogues had previously reported that four new posts of Regional Directors of Medical Education (DME) and Research have been proposed by the Tamil Nadu Health Department to strengthen the administration of medical colleges and teaching hospitals across the state. An additional post of Additional DME (Research) has also been proposed at the directorate in Chennai to coordinate and strengthen research activities

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